Belt buckle



Feb. 19, 1924.- 1,484,416 J. T. SKILLINS BELT BUCKLE Filed July 7. 1922 Patented Feb. 19, i924.

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JOHN T. SKILLINS, OF VJ'ESTIBROGK, MAINE.

BELT BUGKLE.

Application filed July 7,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JoHN T. SKILLINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at l Vestbrook, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Belt Buckles, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to buckles for securing belts and the like.

The type of buckle to which my invention relates is composed of a base plate or flat toned tube through which the belt extends, the belt being bound or held in place against longitudinal motion by a corrugated rolled or crossbar which slides in an inclined slot, thereby being forced down into contact with the belt with sufiicient force to hold it in place.

The object of my invention is to make a buckle operable on this principle but to provide a more positive means of holding the belt in position by providing the binding member with teeth which engage the belt and hold it more solidly than the friction of a roller is able to do.

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated a buckle constructed in accordance with my invention.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a plan,

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation,

Fig. 4: is a perspective view,

Fig. 5 is a plan of the binder,

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the same, and

Fig. 7 is a front view of the binder,

Fig. 8 is a section taken on the same line as Fig. 2 showing a modified construction of the rear portion of the buckle,

Fig. 9 is the same showing a further modification and,

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the floating binder.

Referring to the drawing, 1 represents the flattened section of the tube of which 2 may be regarded as the front end and 3 as the rear end.

The bottom 41 is substantially flat and the two ends are open with a rectangular opening extending the entire width of the tube.

The central portion of the shell of the buckle as 5 is raised or thickened, sloping r ar r ly to ard the r r a d 3 to m 1922. Serial No. 573,386.

an inclined covering wall 6 within which is formed a longitudinal slot 7 closed at each end. The binder 8 consists of a flat plate extending across the buckle and having at each end upward projecting flanges 9, the upper edges of which slope rearwardly and are adapted to catch under the wall 6 to force the binder down onto the belt. At the forward end of the binder is a downwardly extending flange 10 having its lower edge provided with teeth for the purpose of gripping the surface of the belt.

The binder has a rearwardly extending operating tongue 11 which passes through the slot 7 and above the slotis a pair of lateral wings 12, the lower edges 13 of which are adapted to bear or fulcrum on the wall 6. thereby lifting the forward end of the binder, including the teeth from the belt. The belt 14- passes in through the opening 3 and is held from withdrawing by the binder being forced downward by the flanges 9 sliding underneath the wall 6.

The other end of the belt passes into the buckle through the opening 2 and is held from being withdrawn by a tongue 16 formed as a part of the buckle and passing through a hole 15 in the belt.

The inner end of the belt which terminates in about the center of the buckle is beveled or chamfered off so as to allow the opposite end entering from the opening at 3 to slide. up over it.

It will be seen that when the ordinary pull is exerted on the belt the teeth 10 being forced downward by the sloping surface of the flange 9 will hold the belt firmly in lace.

p When it is desired to remove the belt to pull it out it is pulled toward the right, thus relieving the binder and by pressing down on the end of the tongue 11 the toothed end of the binder is lifted entirely free from the belt and held in a raised position so that the belt can slide freely back and forth. This movement is effected by the lower edges 13 of the wings 12 fulcruming on the surface of the wall 6.

Such a buckle as I have described will hold the belt firmly without slipping. It allows the belt to slide easily in both directions.

The tongue 16 is cut from the two halves of the shell and adjacent portions 17 may be bent upward before the end of the belt is tongue inserted and then bent downward to bring the tongue 16 into place.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10, I have shown other means for connecting the belt to the rear end of the buckle aside from having a tongue 16 entering the hole 15.

In Fig. 8, the rear end of the buckle is shown with a tapering recess in which fits a floating or free binder 19 having teeth 20 with the forward end of the rear passage bent downward at 21.

The belt 1 L is inserted through the rear opening 3 and catching on the teeth 20 is securely held in place by the action of the tapering body of the buckle.

In Fig. 9 is shown a construction in which the turned-down flange 22 of the buckle is toothed and forced into the belt near the end to hold it in place.

This is done when the buckle is put together, the two halves folding together as shown in Fig. 4.

The tongue 16 shown in Fig. 4: is in the same relative position as the tongue 22 of Fig. 9 except that in Fig. 9the end of the 7 22 is toothed and is turned down nearly to a vertical position and the tongue is forced into the fabric of the belt.

In Fig. 3 the end marked 2 is tubular as in all the other views so that the top of the structure at the end is integral with the sides and bottom. The tongues 22 therefore is integral with the whole structure and is held firmly in place.

I claim 1. A belt buckle including a flat tube substantially straight on one side, thickened at or near the center and sloping toward the rear end with an inclined wall, a longitudinal slot being formed in said wall closed at its ends, a sliding binder having downward extending teeth at its forward end for holding the belt from slipping and having up turned flanges at its lateral ends with rearwardly inclined upper edges adapted to slide beneath said wall to force the binder into contact with the belt and having rearward extending operating binder tongue extending through said slot at an angle with said binder and lateral wings on said tongue for tilting said binder with its engaging teeth in raised position to clear the belt, a cross wall at the forward end of the buckle to form the opening for one end of the belt and engaging devices on said wall for holding the belt.

2. A belt buckle including a flat tube substantially straight on one side, thickened at or near the center and sloping toward the rear end with an inclined wall, a longitudinal slot being formed in said wall closed at its ends, a sliding binder extending the entire width of the buckle, having downwardl v extending teeth at its forward end for holding the belt from slipping and having upturned flanges at its lateral ends with rearwardlv inclined upper edges adapted to slide beneath said wall to force the binder into contact with the belt and having rearward extending operating binder tongue extending through said slot at an angle with said binder and lateral wings on said tongue for tilting said binder with its engaging teeth in raised position to clear the belt, a cross wall at the forward end of the buckle to form the opening for one end of the belt and engaging devices on said wall for holding the belt.

J UHN T. SKILLINS. 

